is there a US equivalent to the Record of Employment?

In Canada, when an employee stops working for the company (layoff, dismissal, mat leave, termination, etc.) there is a mandatory requirement to provide a Record of Employment (ROE) within five calendar days. This record is required for the employee to claim unemployment insurance. I was recently asked if there is a similar equivalent in the United States.

Because each state has its own unemployment benefit program there is no nationwide standard in the US. Therefore, it is up to the individual to provide the information regarding the reasons and facts related to their dismissal. Of course, when you terminate payroll the government is informed by the company. I typically provided the individual the local state website for information and the following federal site as a courtesy to get them started:

http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/uifactsheet.asp

The more important item for exiting US employees is actually benefits. In the US employees who cannot afford benefits while in between jobs are eligible for COBRA. It is imperative that you don’t mess this up for them. Again, I provide the following website so that they understand the requirements along with detailed information regarding when their company benefits end and the transition to COBRA (if they are not going to another job). Remember that life in the United States without benefits is horrid.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/health-plans/cobra.htm

If you were looking for information specific to the Canadian Record of Employment you can get more information here:

Business Ready strongly recommends you sign up for the Web ROE as it is way more efficient with much less paper!